Finalists Announced For the Grichan Partnership Sustainable Business Award

LONDON, July 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

-Finalists announced for 2015 National Business Awards-  

-Visit http://www.nationalbusinessawards.co.uk for shortlist-

Over 140 of Britain's leading businesses, business leaders and social enterprises have today been revealed as finalists for the 2015 National Business Awards, including eight companies shortlisted for the Grichan Partnership Sustainable Business Award.

The finalists for this award are:

Élan Hair Design
Good Energy
Hadlow College
IKEA UK
TelecityGroup
Telefonica UK (02)
RELX Group
Crown Paints Limited

This award will go to the organisation that can best demonstrate a company-wide commitment and proven business case for sustainability. Judges will look for evidence of how a sustainable approach has improved commercial performance, competitiveness, customer perception, staff engagement, and prospects for continued financial strength.

Ralph English, Managing Partner at the Grichan Partnership commented, "The Grichan Partnership has been providing leaders in Business Risk for many years and it is clear that business sustainability and risk are becoming deeply connected. Business sustainability is not just about the environment or carbon counting but about assurance and the ability to continue business, both physically and morally, in the modern global environment."

Finalists were chosen from the hundreds of businesses that entered or were nominated across 18 award categories. They will now prepare for live presentations to expert juries who will decide the overall winners that will be revealed at the awards ceremony on 10 November.

Joanna Yarrow, Head of Sustainability for IKEA UK and Ireland, one of the finalists in this category, has said: "I am extremely delighted and honoured that IKEA has been shortlisted in the Grichan Partnerships Sustainable Business Award. It is exciting that our commitment to sustainability has been recognised."

This year's finalists represent award categories such as UKTI Growth Business of the Year Award, The Lloyds Bank New Business of the Year Award and the Inflexion International Growth Business of the Year Award.

Dr Márcia Balisciano, Director, Corporate Responsibility at RELX Group, has said: "At RELX Group, corporate responsibility is not a programme or prescriptive set of activities, it is how we do what we do on a daily basis - working to maximise our positive impact, while minimising any negative consequences of conducting our business. Being recognised as a finalist for The Grichan Partnerships Sustainable Business Award demonstrates to our key stakeholders, including our people and customers, that we are doing our part to behave responsibly."

An all encompassing range of industries are represented in the shortlists for this year's awards, with companies from recruitment and children's clothing, to pet food and online marketing being selected for the chance to win a coveted National Business Award.  The scale of the finalists is just as varied, with companies turning over less than a million pounds to over £25 million, employing 20 people or over 70,000 people.

Tom Broughton, Programme Director of the National Business Awards said: "Companies are becoming more and more aware of the importance of running a sustainable business to both the environment and the economy. Therefore the competition for this category in particular was fierce, so the successfully shortlisted companies have done especially well."

Visit http://www.nationalbusinessawards.co.uk for a full list of all finalists and to book a table at the event on 10 November 2015.

About the National Business Awards
Organised by UBM who operates in over 23 countries and organises many of the world's largest, most important exhibitions, conferences, awards, directories, websites and publications across a wide variety of industries, the Lloyds Bank National Business Awards is the flagship awards programme that recognises and rewards excellence across all sectors. Visit http://www.nationalbusinessawards.co.uk for further information or follow us on Twitter @businessawards.

Categories include -  

• The Corporate Citizenship Award
• The Customer Focus Award
• The Lloyds Bank Digital Business of the Year Award
• The Employer of the Year Award
• The Smith & Williamson Entrepreneur of the Year Award
• The UKTI Growth Business of the Year Award
• The Market Gravity Innovation Award
• The Lloyds Bank New Business of the Year Award
• The Inflexion International Growth Business of the Year Award
• The Duke of York New Entrepreneur of the Year Award
• The Lloyds Bank Small to Medium-Sized Business of the Year Award
• The Social Enterprise of the Year Award
• The Vonage Business Enabler of the Year
• The Grichan Partnerships Sustainable Business Award
• The Duke of York Award for University Entrepreneurship
• The QBE FTSE 100 Business of the Year Award
• The Ashridge Business School Leader of the Year Award
• The Lloyds Bank Excellence in Business Award

About UBM EMEA
The National Business Awards is organised by UBM EMEA. UBM EMEA connects people and creates opportunities for companies across five continents to develop new business, meet customers, launch new products, promote their brands and expand their markets.   Through premier brands such as MD&M, CPhI, IFSEC, TFM&A, Cruise Shipping Miami, the Concrete Show and many others, UBM EMEA exhibitions, conferences, awards programs, publications, websites and training and certification programs are an integral part of the marketing plans of companies across more than 20 industry sectors.

Official Partners
Lloyds Bank, The Grichan Partnership, Inflexion Private Equity, Market Gravity, QBE, Smith & Williamson, UKTI, Vonage.